A sublime finish from Jasper Philipsen gave the Alpecin – Deceuninck rider and 2023 winner of the green jersey a stylish win in a bunch sprint in Saint-Amand-Montrond on Stage 10. Philipsen was superbly led out by his World Champion teammate Mathieu van der Poel to put him in a great position to beat Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty) and Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech) to the line, for his first victory at this year’s Tour. On a relatively relaxed stage for the GC riders the threats of crosswinds strong enough to disrupt the peloton did not materialise and therefore there were no changes amongst the top men. After ten days of racing at this year’s Tour, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) remains in control in the Yellow Jersey, still 33” in front of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and 1'15" ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) in the general classification.
A relaxed start to the day
Following the withdrawal from the race of Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe), due to an ankle fracture sustained in a crash on Stage 9, 172 riders were on the start line in Orleans, ready to do battle over the 187.3 km route to Saint-Amand-Montrond. Any candidates for the breakaway were in no rush at the start of the stage as the peloton advanced from Orleans at a moderate 37.2 km/h average speed in the first hour of racing.
Philipsen first in intermediate bunch sprint
A brief excursion for two teams with intermediate sprint interests saw Intermarche – Wanty’s Kobe Goossens and Lotto Dstny’s Harm Vanhoucke and Maxim Van Gils break clear. Van Gils soon sat up, but Goossens reached the point of the intermediate sprint first, followed by Vanhoucke. When the peloton arrived the bunch sprint was therefore for third place, which was taken by Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) for 15 points, two more than green jersey Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty), who followed Philipsen over the line.
No major disruptions caused by crosswinds
The approach to and passage through Issoudun (km 125.3) agitated the peloton somewhat, due to the possibility of echelons, but the expected crosswinds were not fierce enough to considerably disrupt the progress of the GC and sprinters’ teams. So it was ultimately on to a bunch sprint for an exciting finale in Saint-Amand-Montrond, with Philipsen proving too hot to handle for his rivals and able to take a memorable victory with the powerful assistance of Van der Poel.
